How to Handle Unauthorised Occupants In a Rental Property

If your tenants have additional occupants in a rental property without your authorization, here’s what you need to know and what you can do, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

Check the tenancy agreement. Item 15 of the Form 18a – General Tenancy Agreement specifies the maximum number of occupants that are allowed to reside at a rental property. Clause 23 of the Standard Terms provide that no more than the number of persons stated in Item 15 may reside at the property.

How can you tell if there are additional occupants? Additional mattresses or beds in unapproved bedrooms are a sign as well as additional cars outside.

If you are a Property Manager and suspect there are unauthorised additional occupants, it is prudent to notify the Landlord as soon as possible to seek their instruction. It is also important to ensure that there is adequate documentation, such as photos, and correspondence with the tenants, to prove that there are additional occupants in the property. Landlords may then elect to issue the tenants with a Notice to Remedy Breach for a breach of clause 23 of the Standard Terms of the General Tenancy Agreement.

A breach relating to the number of occupants allowed to reside in a property is considered a significant breach in accordance with 192(2)(a) of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the RTRA Act). In accordance with section 192(1)(i) of the RTRA Act, property managers may inspect the property within 14 days of the end of the allowed remedy period to ascertain whether the tenants have remedied the breach.

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